The invention relates to animal feeding apparatus and particularly to apparatus for delivering a predetermined quantity of food at a predetermined time. The owners of animals are often constrained in their travel plans and other activities by the feeding schedules of their pets. It is of great importance for many people to be able to vary their personal schedules without altering the feeding schedule for their animals. The use of a standardized feeding cycle, such as one feeding per day at a given time, is desirable because of the natural rhythm of many animals as well as the desirability of humane treatment of animals.
The utilization of such feeders for dogs, for example, has the advantage of eliminating the requirement for a boarding kennel. The dog will be happier in a more familiar environment and may also function as a watchdog. The invention has primary application to the feeding of cats and dogs and other domestic animals, although it will be understood that it also has application to feeding farm and other animals.
It is an object of the invention to provide apparatus which facilitates the rapid adjustment of a quantity of food in an individual portion without the necessity for using any tools to make the adjustment.
Another object is to deliver both water and other feed material concurrently.
It is another object of the invention to provide means for agitating a fluent food material which is being dispensed to avoid caking or other undesired lodging of the fluent material.
Still another object of the invention is to provide apparatus which may be constructed in large part from off the shelf apparatus.